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| £26m bank robbery trial collapses | £26m bank robbery trial collapses |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The trial has collapsed of the only man charged with the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in December 2004. | The trial has collapsed of the only man charged with the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in December 2004. |
| Chris Ward, 26, denied facilitating the massive cash robbery at the Northern's Belfast headquarters. | Chris Ward, 26, denied facilitating the massive cash robbery at the Northern's Belfast headquarters. |
| He had also faced charges of robbing the bank and two further charges of falsely imprisoning bank colleague Kevin McMullan and his wife Karyn. | He had also faced charges of robbing the bank and two further charges of falsely imprisoning bank colleague Kevin McMullan and his wife Karyn. |
| The judge said: "Given the decision to present no further evidence, I could not arrive at any other verdict." | The judge said: "Given the decision to present no further evidence, I could not arrive at any other verdict." |
| The trial at Belfast Crown Court began on 9 September and lasted four weeks. | The trial at Belfast Crown Court began on 9 September and lasted four weeks. |
| The prosecution's case against Mr Ward, of Colinmill, Poleglass, was based on circumstantial evidence. | The prosecution's case against Mr Ward, of Colinmill, Poleglass, was based on circumstantial evidence. |
| The gang that robbed the bank had such detailed knowledge about its security procedures that detectives believed they had an inside man. | The gang that robbed the bank had such detailed knowledge about its security procedures that detectives believed they had an inside man. |
| Mr Ward's family was one of those taken hostage by the gang, but police believed the 26-year-old had been a willing accomplice. | Mr Ward's family was one of those taken hostage by the gang, but police believed the 26-year-old had been a willing accomplice. |
| Having considered the remaining evidence and the advice of counsel... it has been concluded that it would not be proper to make further submissions Gordon KerrProsecuting barrister class="" href="/1/hi/northern_ireland/7661106.stm">Audacious raid blamed on IRA A key part of the prosecution case was a claim Mr Ward had made a last-minute change to the work rota to ensure he was on duty to facilitate the robbery. | |
| However, during the trial it emerged that dozens of people could have known the identities of keyholders who had access to the bullion room where the money was stored. | |
| On Thursday, prosecution counsel Gordon Kerr QC said the case had been brought before the court based on circumstantial evidence. | |
| "An essential strand related to the circumstances in which the defendant came to be on the rota of the late shift of the Northern Bank on the day of the robbery. | |
| "(It was) fundamental in the case to the prosecution inviting the court to draw inference from other parts of the case." | |
| He added that differences had arisen during the trial around the rota which prompted the rethink. | |
| "Having considered the remaining evidence and the advice of counsel... it has been concluded that it would not be proper to make further submissions." |